The annual "Wan An" air-raid drills will take place in northern Taiwan this Friday and in Taipei City on Aug. 24. Taipei City Government yesterday called on all city residents to cooperate with the drill.
The city's Reserve Command said that Friday's drill will take place at 2pm and last 30 minutes. The first city drill is part of a series of nationwide air-raid drills, but the Aug. 24 follow-up, which will test only Taipei City's civil-defense capabilities, will start at 1:30pm and last three hours.
Officials said that during the drills, people and vehicles must take refuge under the guidance of military police and other authorities. Those who refuse to obey these instructions could be fined as much as NT$150,000.
Trains and the MRT will operate normally, but disembarking passengers must take refuge at designated locations. Commercial aircraft will still be able to land or take off as scheduled, but arriving passengers must take refuge in line with instructions from officials.
Vehicles will only be able to exit freeways. Freeway entry ramps will be closed for the duration of the drill.
The drills are designed to raise public awareness of the importance of national security as well as integrate local and national civil defense teams, medical units and anti-terrorist procedures. City government officials called on residents to take note of the dates of the exercises and cooperate with officials.
The nationwide "Wan An" series of air-raid drills began on Kinmen on July 26, followed by Penghu yesterday.
Northern Taiwan's drill will take place this Friday, followed by eastern Taiwan next Tuesday, Matsu on Aug. 11; central Taiwan on Aug. 17 and southern Taiwan on Aug. 25.
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